November 29 to December 2nd, 2007
By Guest Columnist Uwe Schwanz
(German international dressage rider and trainer for jumping and dressage through Grand Prix writes an annual guest column for the Virtual Equestrian. His website is www.uweschwanz.com)
At the 2007 Munich Indoors, the dressage was held at a national level while the showjumping was held at international level. As a result many of the international riders did not appear to compete in the dressage ring but of those who did, some delightful performances could be seen.
The star of the show must have been, without doubt, local hero Ludwig Zierer, whose horse Weltino is carrying him from victory to victory. Zierer and Weltino are now in the official B squad in Germany, and it seems that the ambitious amateur's dedication and willingness to work in his riding have really paid off. Having attended numerous shows with Zierer in the past, I was always pleased to see how concentrated he was when working his horse in the collecting ring, how sensitive his approach to his riding, and how fine his aids. His style has always been characterised by elegance and seeking a true joint venture with his partner, the horse, and Weltino, an excellent horse with wonderful gaits and a charisma to match his beauty, is thanking him for it. At the Munich Indoors, Weltino and Zierer won two of the three dressage classes, namely the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special. Zierer achieved 70.125% in the Grand Prix, with Isabell Werth taking 2nd place ( 69.667%) and Olga Klimko, who rides for the Ukraine, placing 3rd.
Ludwig Zierer and Weltino on their lap of honor
The Freestyle to Music went to Isabell Werth, with an amazing 77.200%, followed by Christine Eglinski in 2nd place. Werth had displayed some especially difficult combinations of lesson with Apache, and her Oldenburg mount was in great form on Sunday morning. As always, the acoustics in the Olympic arena of Munich were not the best, but those who turned up for the early morning start were nonetheless spellbound by what has traditionally always been known as the "most interesting" of the dressage classes.
Isaell Werth at the 2007 Munich Indoors
Isabell Werth and Apache winning the Grand Prix Freestlye to Music
Of great interest was an Australian rider, Hayley Beresford, who stems from Perth and rides for the yard of Isabell Werth. She came 7th in the Grand Prix Special. "Isabell is more than my trainer," said Beresford, "she is also a friend, a confidante, and someone I can rely on 100 per cent. In my time of riding and training with her, I have made enormous progress."
No kidding! With her excellent seat and fine aids, the Werth influence is clearly visible.
Beresford competed on Relampago do Retiro, with horse and rider only recently both having made it to the Grand Prix stage, and although they were still somewhat lacking routine for some of the lessons, this appears to be nothing that cannot be fixed with increased experience. However, the talent is there, for sure, and it is easy to see why Werth had offered to Beresford to ride for her after meeting the young Australian talent during a dressage clinic in her hometown Perth in Western Australia. In the Grand Prix, Beresford placed 10th, but still achieved a considerable 63.708%.
Hayley Beresford competing with Relampago do Retiro in the Munich Indoors 2007
On to the jumping, there was somewhat of an unfortunate time-frame which, as often, became a liability for the dressage. A very late start of the final jumping on Saturday evening, which was actually already Sunday morning at 12:30 (!!!) a.m. left more than a few people wondering whether it was actually necessary to start quite that late. By the time the hall emptied on Saturday night/early Sunday morning, it was well after 1:30 a.m., and the next morning's dressage, the Grand Prix Special, started bright and early at 9 am. On Saturday morning, the Grand Prix started at 7.25 a.m. and three lucky guesses why the audience members could be easily counted on both mornings, probably making up no more than a few hundred, of which plenty were directly associated with the riders, being grooms and sponsors.
The jumping, however, was held before full ranks, with Frank Rothenberger building several challenging courses. The international jumping competition with jump-off on Friday evening went to reining German professional riders' national champion Tim Rieskamp-Goedeking on Casario, followed by Peter Wilde on Campino in 2nd place and Ireland's Cameron Hanley placing 3rd. In Saturday's time jumping, both 1st and 2nd place went to the Austrians, with Thomas Fruehmann on Limited Edition placing 1st and Hugo Simon riding Horse La Loi into 2nd place before Rene Tebbel who placed 3rd with Kira Bell. The highlight of the Munich Indoors 2007 was, as last year, the Riders Tour Finals. Thomas Voss won the qualifier on Leonardo B, but Sunday's Grand Prix, the 6th and final Riders Tour jumping competition, was the decisive class. If she managed to win, then US born German rider Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum would win the entire Riders Tour, and she did, managing to steer her Silvio-son Shutterfly through the difficult course that was lovingly decorated in the Christmas spirit but left no room for errors by either horse or rider on account of its very challenging combinations. Shutterfly and Michaels-Beerbaum rose to the occasion, claiming not only the gold ribbon for the Grand Prix, but also the Riders Tour title. 2nd in the Grand Prix was Marcus Ehning on Sandro Boy, with Carsten-Otto Nagel and Corradina placing 3rd. The fastest round was ridden by Thomas Fruehmann on The 6th Sense, but going for full risk and taking a corner too sharply resulted in one jump down and with it 4 faults, meaning an overall 5th place in the Grand Prix.
Thomas Fruehmann and The 6th Sense in the Sunday afternoon Grand Prix
Riders Tour Winner Meredith Michaels Beerbaum at the 2007 Munich Indoors
All images by Tina von Block
